Wouldn't have considered the 7950 but after reading reviews it looks like the way forward especialy with how easy it is to increase clock speed (according to the review I read, something I have never done or previously considered. Is it done with amd powertune?).

Thanks canuucks. To date I have learnt I dont really need i7 and that increasing clock speedss on 7950 is easy. That really is cash that can be spent elsewhere on the sytem. Brilliant.

Can you see any other ways of streamlining the sytem?

Ps I thanks to magiwizard. I see that there are lots of crossfire mobos available and I do not need sli.

II do not understand why I would want to spend more on a mobo above a std gigabyte or asus. What is the
advantage of a z77x - ud5h for instance?